An informational meeting to review the items to be voted on by ballot at Vershire Town Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, March 4, at 2 p.m., at the Town Center. Town Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 6, beginning at 10 a.m., at the Town Center. Ballot voting to elect officials and decide the budget and other spending requests will run that day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Vershire Historical Society wing of the Town Center.
Vershire
“A couple of people said ‘Look, we’ve got to fix the cemeteries,’ ” said Selectman Marc McKee about the cemetery committee, which has requested $9,500, for fixing up the “general disheveled appearance” of the South Vershire, Mountain and Vershire Village cemeteries. “The major upkeep was let go for a long time.”
Funds will also be taken from the town’s cemetery fund for the work.
“This is a cool part of Vermont’s history,” McKee said. “We want to honor the past citizens of Vershire.”
The proposed municipal budget of about $274,000 is about $10,000 higher than the current fiscal year. The highway fund budget would increase about $17,500, to $344,000, if approved by voters.
The current municipal tax rate is 74 cents for $100 of valuation. The municipal tax rates will likely see a slight increase, McKee said.
The overall tax rate will not be set until after the Rivendell Interstate School District meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, March 20, at 6:30 p.m. at Rivendell Academy. The Vermont State Education tax rate will be set in June.
“I think for the last 10 years or so we’ve kept the spending flat,” McKee said about keeping the municipal budget within a 1 to 3 percent increase each year. “We don’t want to raise taxes.”
One topic that is likely to come up at Town Meeting is the state of the town garage. While there are no articles on the warning asking to build a garage and where — beyond a request to put $25,000 into the Town Garage Fund — it is a topic of discussion. The current garage, built in the early 1970s, is no longer viable. In 2013, the town purchased property on Durgin Hill Road to build a new one, but are encountering opposition from landowners who live in the area, according to a progress report of the Town Garage Committee. Residents in that area have asked the town to consider other parcels of land, including one that is for sale on Parker Road.
“I never would have thought it would be this difficult to get people to agree, but I understand,” McKee said. “At this point, we need an objective third party. We’ve got to get somebody in to look at it to make an analysis of what and if we can do.”
The town is also considering using an outside vendor for the removal of recycling material after persistent issues with residents leaving bags of trash outside the town’s recycling center. Mark Fogerty, who oversees the facility, is going to leave the position and unless the town can find someone to fill that role, it is going to have to switch to an outside vendor which will likely cost more per bag than the town is currently paying, McKee said.
There are no contested races on the ballot. Sarah McRae Thrasher is running for re-election for a three-year term on the Selectboard.
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
